Thai · IV The Method
พริกแกง (Prik Gaeng): The Curry Paste Architecture
I
Origin
Thai curry pastes (prik gaeng — literally "curry chilli") are among the most complex aromatic preparations in world cooking — each a specific combination of dried and fresh aromatics, fermented shrimp paste (kapi), and chillies that cannot be replicated by any commercial approximation. Thompson dedicates an entire chapter to establishing why fresh-pounded paste produces categorically different results from blended paste and why Thai cooking cannot be understood without this foundation.
II
Description
The complete Thai curry paste system — architecture, pounding technique, and the major paste families.
III
The Thread
—Indonesian bumbu (same fresh aromatic paste — same mortar technique, different aromatics), Malaysian rempah (direct parallel — same cultural heritage), Indian wet masala paste (same pound-and-cook tec
IV
Flavour Context
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Pillars V — VII
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